The History of Extremity Replantation

Abstract

The concept of the dead being brought back to life has fascinated humankind since recorded time. The history of replantation is the story of challenging this taboo by analyzing the reports from myths, miracles, and the more credible documentations of the survival of grafted body parts. For survival the circulation needed to be reconstituted and this called for blood vessel repair. Initially with empiricism, then science, and, finally, with critical refinements in technology, microvessels were able to be reliably anastomosed and with it began the era of replantation.

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